Victory over USC won't linger in the minds of Stanford

STANFORD -- He had just beaten USC without Jim Harbaugh on the headset or Andrew Luck under center, but coach David Shaw stopped well-short of basking in Stanford's 21-14 victory.

No postgame gatherings with friends.

No kicking back with a glass of wine (Shaw doesn't drink).

No watching a replay of the game at home late Saturday night.

"My wife wanted to watch the TV copy of the game," said Shaw. "I said, 'I just saw it. I was there.'

"You can't linger ... I was around Jerry Rice for a year" when Shaw was a Raiders assistant. "He was 39 years old, and he's out there an hour before practice and an hour after practice.

"If you want to be good at something, you have to concentrate on the work. You can't concentrate on the achievements. You can't concentrate on the pats on the back. You can't concentrate on the (trophies), necessarily. You concentrate on the work, and that's what we're trying to teach our guys."

Shaw was back in the office Sunday and watched a tape of the victory with his coaching staff. Then he turned his attention to Stanford's next opponent, Washington, on Sept. 27.

"(Beating) USC can't be a goal," he said. "It's a process on the way to our goals. We accomplished one. OK, great. What's the next one?"

Both the Cardinal and Huskies are off this week, in accordance with Pac-12 scheduling policy.

Advertisement

Stanford's to-do list during the bye is lengthy and includes these areas:

The red zone: The Cardinal has scored touchdowns on only 45 percent of its possessions inside its opponents' 20-yard line.

Passing efficiency: Quarterback Josh Nunes, who directed the victory over USC, has completed just 53.4 percent of his passes. "We have got to be a 60 percent completion team," Shaw said.

Placekicking: Jordan Williamson missed three field goals Saturday and is 5 of 9 this season. "The best part is that it has nothing to do with ability," Shaw said. "It's about him doing it consistently."

Stanford jumped 12 positions, to No. 9, in the Associated Press rankings. This is the third consecutive season in which the Cardinal has spent at least a week in the top 10.

"Once again, we shrug our shoulders and say, 'OK,' " Shaw said. "Those things change from week to week. But what can't change is how we play."

Second-string tailback Anthony Wilkerson is not expected to play next week because of what Shaw described as a lower-leg injury.